Antetokounmpo scores 24 points as Bucks beat Hornets
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 10 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks swept the four-game season series with Charlotte, beating the Hornets 111-99 on Thursday night to finish a home-and-home set.
Malik Beasley added 19 points — hitting five 3-pointers — and Bobby Portis had 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Bucks shot 16 of 39 from beyond the arc to give coach Doc Rivers his first four-game winning streak with the team.
The Bucks thrashed the Hornets by an average of 29.2 points this season — the largest margin in team history — after outscoring them by 38, 36 and 31 in the other three games. This game was closer, but not by much.
“It’s veterans versus young players,” Rivers said about the matchup with the Hornets, three of which come after he was hired. “(Hornets coach) Steve Clifford is a hell of a coach and it’s obvious to see, but he’s a got a bunch of young guys who are learning how to play winning basketball. And one of his best players (Lamelo Ball) is out.”
Milwaukee shot 55% in the first half, including 9 of 18 on 3s, to build a 19-point lead at the break and was seriously challenged in the second half.
The Bucks have moved the ball extremely well during their fourgame winning emphasizing extra passes to turn good shots into great ones.
Portis said that is a reflection on Rivers’ leadership.
“Shout to Doc,” Portis said. “Having a guy that can sit down with everybody and tell every player what he expects from them, it makes you own your role more. And I think the ball finds energy when you move it, play free and drive and kick. The ball finds the right man and everybody just lines up and shoots it.”
Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 21 points and Miles Bridges added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
It looked early on like it would be a replay of Tuesday night when the Bucks held the Hornets to 26 points in the first half en route to a 123-85 victory in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee jumped out to a 10-2 lead behind a driving dunk from Antetokounmpo to take control early.
The Hornets briefly clawed back into the game late in the first quarter after Thanasis Antetokounmpo was whistled for a technical foul on the bench for arguing a non-foul call against his younger brother Giannis. Thanasis Antetokounmpo screamed at officials after a scramble for the ball under the basket involving his brother and Charlotte’s Bridges and Grant Williams. Giannis Antetokounmpo eventually came up with the loose ball and scored off the glass.
But the Hornets couldn’t sustain the momentum, as the Bucks closed the first half with a 24-10 run behind Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, who finished with 17 points.
Clifford wasn’t real happy with his team’s defense.
“We gave up drives where we just had wrong stances, wrong angles and no help,” Clifford said. “Guys should not be blowing by us like they were.”
Miller said the Bucks are playing at a “high clip,” adding that “I think they’re getting ready for the playoffs, so of course it’s a great team.”
WARRIORS 110, KNICKS 99
NEW YORK — Stephen Curry had 31 points and 11 rebounds, bouncing back from a scoreless first half in his last game with a double-double by the midpoint of this one, and the Golden State Warriors beat the New York Knicks 110-99 on Thursday night.
Jonathan Kuminga added 25 points for the Warriors, who extended their road winning streak to seven games, their longest since winning 11 in a row in the 2018-19 season.
The Warriors raced to a 14-0 lead and never trailed, though they were never in control for very long. They opened a series of sizable cushions, but the short-handed Knicks kept getting it back to a workable margin.
Golden State wouldn’t let them come all the way back and won for the 10th time in 12 games overall.
Curry was 0 for 7 in the first half of a victory in Washington on Tuesday, the first time he’s been scoreless through two quarters since Nov. 23, 2012. This time he had a 3-pointer to open the scoring and had 17 points and 10 rebounds by the break, the second time in his career he’s had a double-double in the first half.
He finished with eight 3-pointers, while Klay Thompson added 16 points. Chris Paul had 11 points and six assists in his second game back after missing 21 with a broken left hand.
Jalen Brunson scored 27 points for the Knicks, who finished 4-8 in February after going 14-2 in January. But they lost starting forwards Julius Randle and OG Anunoby late in that month and don’t know when they’ll be back.
Donte Divincenzo added 16 points and Josh Hart had 14 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists for the Knicks, who missed their first nine shots and trailed by 17 early.
Curry opened the scoring 17 seconds into the game and the Warriors led 14-0 before four minutes were gone. Divincenzo’s layup ended New York’s 0-for-9 start, but Thompson answered with a 3 to make it 17-2.
Another basket by Curry gave the Warriors a 22-5 advantage, which the Knicks trimmed to 50-44 lead in the half before Golden State took a 55-46 lead to the break.
The Warriors went back up by 17 on a 3-pointer by Curry midway through the third quarter but again the Knicks charged back, getting it down to 73-67 on a 3-pointer by Brunson with 2:39 remaining in the period.
New York was still within seven with under 3 1/2 minutes remaining, but Curry made 3-pointers for Golden State’s next two baskets to push the lead back into double digits.
Anunoby could be inching closer to a return, with coach Tom Thibodeau saying Thursday he was cleared to begin individual basketball activities such as dribbling and shooting, though still nothing where he would face any contact as he recovers from elbow surgery.
MAGIC 115, JAZZ 107
ORLANDO, Fla. — Jalen Suggs hit three 3-pointers in the final three minutes and finished with 15 points as the Orlando Magic beat the Utah Jazz 115-107 on Thursday night.
Paolo Banchero, back in the lineup after missing two games due to the flu, had 29 points and nine rebounds for the Magic, who won for the 10th time in 13 games. The Wagner brothers, Franz and Moritz, each added 14 points. Suggs shot 5 for 8 from the field and 4 for 7 from 3-point distance before fouling out in the final seconds.
John Collins, Keyonte George and Collin Sexton each scored 19 points and Lauri Markkanen added 18 for the slumping Jazz, who lost their second straight and for the seventh time in eight games.
The Magic went more than 13 minutes without a 3-point field goal before Suggs made one with 2:49 remaining in the game. He made all three of his long shots in a 90-second span, extending Orlando’s lead from 101-100 lead to 110-103.
Utah stayed in contention with 16-for-37 shooting from long distance. But, playing without Walker Kessler, the NBA’S No. 3 shot blocker, the Jazz had just one block.